Ida Winckler

From the 1970s, Winckler collaborated with Anna Sofie Boesen Dreijer in developing sewing patterns for embroidering traditional folk costumes for Foreningen til Folkedansens Fremme, a folk dance association.

In 1930, Winckler gained employment at the newly established Danish Handcraft Guild where for the next 65 years she created hundreds of embroidery patterns which were widely used both in Denmark and in countries such as Germany, the United States and Japan. They were intended principally for decorating the home, consisting of wall panels, table cloths and Christmas items, but they also covered handbags finely embroidered in silks. Her early work represented patterns for reproducing traditional work such as 17th-century silk-embroidered canvas and 19th-century rural whitework. Later, much of her work was more freely designed, as she began to create simpler patterns, especially for cross stitch which became popular after the Second World War. Here Winckler became a major contributor, creating artistically presented patterns, often with intricate detail. Her cross-stitch patterns for houses are of particular note, as are her representations of the coats of arms of Danish and Swedish cities.

Ida Anna Winkler (1907–1995) was a Danish painter and textile artist. In 1930, she joined the newly established Haandarbejdets Fremme (Danish Handcraft Guild), where over the next 65 years she created hundreds of mainly cross-stitch patterns. They have been widely used not only in Denmark, but also in Germany, the United States and Japan. She also contributed to a number of embroidery guides, some in English, published from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Born on 20 May 1907 in the Copenhagen district of Frederiksberg, Ida Anna Winckler was the daughter of Peter Johan Winckler (1862–1953), a sea captain, and Anna Elise Bornholm (1869–1907). Her artistic talents were developed at the Tegne- og Kunstindustriskolen for Kvinder (Arts and Crafts School for Women) under Margrete Drejer and Gunnar Biilmann Petersen. Drejer introduced her to both Danish and foreign styles of sewing and embroidery, including complex techniques such as goldwork. On receiving her diploma in 1928, Winckler remained at the school as a teacher, developing embroidery patterns, especially for whitework, for use as educational aids in high schools.